Underneath the Mistletoe
by Rekall
Summary: Seto finds a cute, little, frozen, exPharaoh out in the cold so he takes him home to warm him up. [SetoYami]


**A/N** - a little something I wrote for the Pharaoh's Palace Christmas Challenge.

* * *

Yami stared up into the sky with disgust as the cold, wet snow fell towards the ground. This was technically the former Pharaoh's first winter and he wasn't liking it one bit at the moment.

The year before Yami had still been a part of Yugi and since the young teen hadn't been aware of Yami's presence at that point, the spirit found no need to take over the teenager's body. Instead he had decided to hibernate inside of his heart room until the weather became warmer. Fortunately for him no bully had decided to pick on Yugi during that period so he didn't have to leave the warmth of the puzzle to deal penalty games.

This year was different however, Yami now had a body of his own so he could no longer hide away. That meant he now had to deal with the cold weather and all the holidays festivals as this thing called 'Christmas' drew closer and closer.

Christmas completely puzzled the former Pharaoh. The last time he had been 'alive' there had been no such thing. Sure they had lots of celebrations for the various gods and at first he was uncomfortable with partaking in this Christmas thing for he did not want to anger his own gods. But Yugi had assured him that that although Christmas started off with the celebration of a religion that was more popular in the western world then in Japan, many people who did not believe in Christianity celebrated the holiday since it was a lot of fun. Therefore Yami had found himself attempting to embrace the holiday festivals, the weather however was something completely different. There was no doubt about it, Yami hated the cold, the snow, the ice and everything else that came along with that time of the year weather wise. To make things worst, the others had reluctantly informed him that this year was much colder than normal, which pissed the former Pharaoh off even more.

Yami reached his thickly gloved hands up to his head to pull his toque tighter down onto this head. In addition to the gloves and the toque, Yami wore the warmest jacket he could find in all of Japan, two sweat tops, a long-sleeve t-shirt, three pairs of pants, four pair of socks, winter boots and a long scarf that wrapped around his neck and face. Not even his massive spiky hair could be seen under his getup. Only his crimson eyes were visible to see as he glared out at the world, wondering if anyone would mind if he skipped off back home to Egypt until things started warming up.

"Out of the way!" an all too familiar voice called breaking Yami out of his hateful thoughts of the snow. Moments later Yami found himself face first in a newly constructed pile of snow. Glancing upwards out of the pile of snow, Yami briefly saw a person with long white hair and an obviously stolen present under his arm running down the street.

Letting out a string of angry Egyptian words, Yami cursed the former King of Thieves who was obviously not finding the Japanese weather as tough to deal with as the Pharaoh.

As Yami struggled back to his feet, his foot hit a patch of ice, causing him to fall backwards landing on his back with a loud thud. Instead of trying to get back up, Yami laid there staring up at the snowy sky vowing to get on the next plane to Egypt. He wasn't worried; the Ishtars would take him in. It was their duty as Tomb Keepers to obey the word of the Pharaoh.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked and a familiar face loomed over Yami's view of the cursed snow.

"Kaiba?" Yami asked while he sat up to get a better look at the person. Yep, same burnet hair, same piecing blue eyes, long trench coat except this one seemed warmer and was lined with fur.

"Atemu?" the other person asked while scowling.

"Don't call me that," Yami sighed. After gaining his own body Yami had adopted the name Mutou Yami. "My name is Yami now. And could you please help here?" Reluctantly the CEO stepped back and offered his hand to help Yami to his feet. Grasping, Seto's hand, the short duelist was soon standing next to his long time rival. "Thanks. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I live here stupid," Seto replied and nodded his head towards the gate they were standing in front of. Through the black gates, Yami could see the large white house that was decorated all over with Christmas lights. "And your ass was blocking my car from getting in the driveway."

"Careful Kaiba, I could sue you for leaving ice around in front of your place. Besides, I have a very nice ass!"

"I don't own the sidewalk," Seto shot back and turned on his heels as he began storming back to the limo, which was waiting on the street. "Are you coming or not?" he called back over his shoulder as soon as he reached the limo. Confused, Yami scurried after Seto and the two duelists climbed into the limo before it started driving up the long driveway to the entrance of the mansion.

"I never pictured you for the Christmas type," Yami commented as he stared at the lights on the mansion.

"I have a twelve year old brother," Seto grumbled for a reply. "Who's idea do you think it was?"

The limo came to a stop and its driver hurried to open the door for them. After the pair climbed out Seto dismissed the driver for the night.

"So what am I doing here?" Yami asked as he followed Seto inside the mansion. Like outside the interior was decorated with all kinds of Christmas goodies. "Mokuba again?" the former Pharaoh asked.

"Of course," Seto scoffed as he led Yami into a room with a large fireplace. "As for why you're here, I'm making sure you aren't dead anymore then you already are. It's barely below freezing out and look at you. You're acting like we're in another Ice Age."

"This is an ice age!" Yami protested having no clue what the real Ice Ages were. It was cold out and there was ice on the ground, that's all the mattered to the former Pharaoh.

"Whatever, but I somehow doubt you'd make it home without warming up for a bit first," Seto said as he sat down on one of the couches in the room. Seto had shed his winter coat almost immediately upon entering the mansion and now only wore black slacks and a black long sleeved shirt. Yami had to admit the CEO looked good as took a seat near the fire and started removing his own clothing.

"Hey wait!" Seto protested as Yami started removing his track pants unaware that the former Pharaoh was wearing multiple layers. With a roll of his eyes and a smirk, Yami tugged off the two pair of track pants to reveal tight, black leather pants.

"Sorry Priest but this room isn't warm enough for me to remove all of my clothes," Yami teased causing Seto to scowl.

"I'm not a priest!"

"Sure you aren't," Yami replied with another smirk.

"Shut up before I change my mind and make you leave now while your ass is still frozen."

"But it's such a nice ass which wants to be warmed up!"

"Yami-"

"I'll be good, I'll be good!" Yami cried as he held up his hands in defeat. He had no desire to go back out in the cold again so soon and he kind of liked the CEO's company. It reminded him of the old days when he and his priest were together. Thinking of the priest, Yami cast his eyes downward and got a sad look on his face.

"What now?" an irritated Seto asked causing Yami to snap his head back up to look into the face that reminded him so much of his past love.

"It's Christmas," Yami explained with a small sigh.

"Huh?"

"Aibou told me that during Christmas you spend your time with the ones you love. Like I know you don't like this Christmas stuff either but you do it for Mokuba because you love him. I just wish that someone I loved was here as well."

"Yugi and the others aren't enough?" Seto asked finding himself interested in what his rival had to say.

"There are other kinds of love Seto," Yami softly replied unaware he had used the CEO's given name instead of Kaiba. Seto did notice naturally and was surprised to hear that name from the Pharaoh's lips.

Narrowing his eyes at Yami, Seto suddenly stood up and started walking out of the room. "Come on."

"Where are we going now?" Yami asked as he once again hurried after the CEO, while thoughts of his priest left his mind.

"It's late, my driver has already left for the night and I don't feel like driving you myself back to the Kame Game Shop. So unless you feel like walking, you can stay here for the night."

"Thank you," Yami replied while beaming. Although three thousand years ago he loved his priest with all his heart, that priest was no longer among the living in form that Yami remembered him. He did however have a very sexy reincarnation that Yami couldn't help but feel attracted to. That was why Yami failed to mention to the CEO that they could have called a taxi but for some reason he doubted that Seto forgot about that option.

Seto lead Yami up the starts to the upper levels of the mansion. After walking down a hallway, Seto stopped in front of bedroom door. "You can sleep here for the night. My room is across the hall if you need me for anything."

Seto started opening the door to his own room when Yami noticed something dangling above their heads. "Seto wait!" he cried and pointed upwards.

Seto groaned and mentally cursed Mokuba when he saw the mistletoe. Mokuba had decided to hang mistletoe all over the mansion and then invite all his female friends over hoping to score kisses with them all over the place.

Standing on his tiptoes, Yami captured Seto's lips in a warm kiss. As they continued to kiss Seto wrapped his arms around Yami's waist and pulled the former Pharaoh closer. The kiss continued for a few more minutes then as suddenly as it had begun, the kiss was over with Yami pulling away from the tall CEO.

"Night Kaiba," Yami whispered before ducking into the room. The last image he saw before he closed the door was seeing the disappointment on Seto's face at being called Kaiba once again.

* * *

The next day, Yami woke up bright and early. All his life he was use to waking up at dawn and it was something that carried over once he had gotten his new body.

Slipping naked out of the warm bed, Yami made his way over to bathroom that was attached to the guestroom for a quick shower. After last night he was anxious to see Seto again but also a little scared that the CEO would now kick him out of the mansion now that it was daylight.

After the shower, Yami dressed in his first layer of clothes and made his way out of the room only to run straight into Seto who had been exiting his own room at the same time. Seto easily caught Yami in his arms and held the former Pharaoh close so that neither of them would fall. Yami noted that Seto held longer then needed and seemed reluctant to let his rival go. Yami also noted that he liked the feeling of being in Seto's arms.

Also since they were once again under the mistletoe the pair had no choice but to kiss again. Unlike last night, this kiss was quick because Yami was starting not to trust himself around the CEO.

"What are you doing up so early?" Yami asked when Seto finally pulled away.

"I have a company to run. What about you?"

"I had a country to run," Yami replied while giving Seto a small smile before frowning. "But isn't today something special? I seem to remember it is. So you shouldn't be working!"

"It's Christmas Eve," Seto informed him with a hearty laugh. Seto had to admit it was fun seeing the former ruler of a nation and King of Games so confused. "And no I'm not working today but I'm still used to waking up this early. Just as you are still used to waking up this early and your country is long gone."

"Now you're making me feel old," Yami replied with a small pout on his cute little face.

"You are old!" Seto told him, causing Yami to give Seto a death glare as he followed the CEO back down the stairs to the ground floor. It didn't take Yami long to realize that Seto was leading them towards the kitchen.

"Umm…Seto?" Yami gently called out as Seto stepped through the archway into the kitchen. Until then the pair had remained quiet since they had left upstairs.

"What is it?" Seto asked turning around to look back at Yami. With a small blush, Yami pointed above Seto's head and once again Seto cursed his little brother. "Sorry," Seto lamely apologized, as he opened his arms and Yami walked into them. Their kiss was sweet and tender. Seto pressed his tongue against Yami's lips causing Yami to open his mouth to allow the CEO to explore the warm cavern. Unfortunately for them their kiss would be cut short.

"Niisama! I'm hungry!" Mokuba cried and the two broke apart moments before the youngster came bounding into the room. "Oh hey, Yami. What are you doing here?"

"I was out in the cold last night when your brother found me," Yami explained. "It was late so I stayed the night."

"Oh okay," the younger Kaiba brother said while shrugging his shoulders before spotting something. "Hey you guys are under the mistletoe," he pointed out with an evil grin. Quickly Seto kissed Yami's cheek before darting into the kitchen to cook breakfast for them all.

After breakfast it was time for Yami to leave. Yugi no doubt would be worried about him but the ex-spirit wasn't too concerned since more than likely Yugi was not awake yet. As Seto waited for Yami by the front door, Yami went and gathered his layer of clothes from the other room. Spying the Christmas Tree in the room that he had not noticed last night, Yami remembered why he had been in Kaiba's rich neighborhood too begin with. Reaching into the pocket of his coat, Yami pulled out the small present, he had planned on giving Seto and carried it over to the tree.

Sitting down the present, Yami stood back and looked down at it with a mournful expression on his face. His small present looked pitiful among the large, professionally wrapped gifts, which Yami noted were mostly for Mokuba. His own present was so tiny you would probably not see it unless you were looking at it and knew it was there. The present also wasn't the nicest looking either. Yami had developed a huge problem with wrapping presents; it was something that he could not grasp. Normally Yugi would wrap for him after numerous failed attempts, but his Aibou had no clue that Yami had gotten his rival a present. Therefore Yami had spent almost two hours trying to wrap the small box and make it look decent. After spending so much time wrapping it Yami had thought he had finally got it right but now looking at the other presents, his own looked as if a five year old had wrapped it.

"Are you ready to go?" a voice asked and Yami looked up to find Seto standing in the doorway. Seto's appearance made it impossible for Yami to snatch back the present now so he'd have to live with the embarrassment when Seto found the gift the next day. Looking at the CEO, Yami also saw what was once again hanging over Seto's head.

"Yeah I'm ready," Yami replied as he walked over to Seto and placed a quick kiss to his lips. Yami then slid pass the burnet as Seto looked upwards and angrily grabbed the mistletoe from the doorframe.

"Mokuba!" he yelled before following the former Pharaoh.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride," Yami said as Seto's car stopped in front of the game shop. Yami was glad they were finally there as he found it very warm in Seto's car and wished he hadn't worn all those clothes again. "I could have walked though you know".

"Yes but I didn't want your cute little ass to freeze again."

"Hah ha! You admit my ass is cute!"

"Get out of here Yami," Seto growled clearly embarrassed. Wisely Yami opened the door of the car and hurried towards the game shop. Once he was inside, Seto banged his forehead against the steering wheel before driving off back home.

* * *

"PRESENTS!"

The youngest Kaiba brother raced towards their Christmas Tree. It was bright and early Christmas morning and Mokuba couldn't wait to dig into the pile of presents that his brother had got for him.

Behind Mokuba, Seto followed at a much closer pace. He had been in a bad mood ever since he had dropped Yami off the day before but had tried to keep it hidden for Mokuba's sake. He'd have the rest of holidays to brood but today was Mokuba's day and he was determined to keep his brother happy.

Seto sat down next to Mokuba on the floor, who was currently tearing the wrappings off all his presents. Again at a much slower pace, Seto started on his own presents with little care. Presents had no meaning to him, the best gifts he had ever got was when Mokuba was younger and would make him things like the BEWD picture he treasured so much.

"I can't make out the writing on this tag," Mokuba complained as he held up a small, oddly wrapped present. "It's too messy."

Seto took the present from Mokuba and squinted at the writing. It was indeed very messy writing and it looked as if either a child wrote it or who someone who had not completely grasped the language. Still, Seto could make out his name so he ripped off the wrapping to find a small jewelry box. Opening the lid, Seto gasped when he saw the small, circular, gold pendent attached to a golden chain.

Picking up the pendent, Seto ran his thumb over the engraved BEWD on it. It was the same picture of his dragon as the picture on the stone tablet in all those flashbacks he had. Feeling something on the other side, Seto flipped the pendent over and easily read the ancient writing. 'Love', it read.

"Mokuba stay here," Seto commanded as he stood up while clipping the gold chain around his neck. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

* * *

Yami once again stared up at the snowy sky. His first Christmas had been nice. Yugi's parents, who had surprising been very accepting when Yami had first been granted his own body, had given him a leather jacket and he couldn't wait for it be warm enough so he could wear it. Jiichan had given him three books since the spirit had taken a liking to reading, one that listed every Duel Monster card ever made, one that was about Ancient Egypt and the last book was a fiction one called _The Lord of the Rings_. And Yugi had different games they could play together. But gradually Yami became overwhelmed with everything so he escaped to nearby park. Soon, he would have to return as the gang was coming over so they could exchange presents but for the meantime he was content to have the peaceful quiet even if it meant he was freezing again.

"I would have thought you would have learned to stay out of the cold."

Snapping his head around, Yami was shocked but happy to see Seto walking towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was driving by when I saw a bundle of clothes walking through the park. I knew only you would be dressed like that here so I stopped. What are you doing out here and not with the Mutou's?"

"Well I guess it turned out I suck at this Christmas stuff," Yami lamely admitted as he smiled at the CEO. "It's a tad overwhelming when it's your first one."

"It is true that Christmas can be overwhelming especially if its your first," Seto admitted. "But I don't think you suck at Christmas at all . . . I found your present."

"Oh?" Yami asked trying to keep from blushing from the embarrassment.

Reaching under his jacket, Seto pulled it out to show it to Yami. "Love?" he inquired and Yami blushed deeper.

"I didn't know you'd be able to read it," Yami softly admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Yami, I'm not the Seto you remember."

"I know that," Yami replied while staring into the intense blue eyes. "But at the same time you _are_ Seto. It doesn't matter how different you are."

Never letting his glaze leave Yami's, Seto reached into his pocket and pull something out of it. He then held his hand over Yami's head, which was when the former Pharaoh finally saw what it was.

"You're standing under mistletoe Yami," Seto softly said before capturing Yami's lips in a kiss. Letting the mistletoe drop to the ground, Seto wrapped his arms around Yami's waist as they deepened the kiss. "Lets go back to my place," Seto murmured against Yami's lips. "I abandoned my brother on Christmas to find you and plus I need to get your cute little ass warmed up again."

"Good idea," Yami agreed as he gave a small shiver. Yami huddled close against Seto's body as they walked towards the CEO's car.

"Oh, I've decided to take you on a trip to the Caribbean to celebrate the New Year," Seto informed him as they reached the car. "You really do need to warm up for while and it would be nice to see you wearing only one layer of clothing again."

Seto had to laugh as Yami gave a delightful squeal and madly hugged him. Yami meanwhile couldn't wait for the trip. Not only would it mean that he would get to spend a lot more time with Seto as they developed their newfound relationship but it also meant that for a short while he could escape the cold. However, a quick glance at Seto told Yami that he doubted he wouldn't remain cold for much longer in Domino.


End file.
